Shula's Solutions Break Open Bears' Defense

December 4, 1985|By Brian Schmitz of The Sentinel Staff

MIAMI — Analyze, adjust and act. Those are guidelines Miami Coach Don Shula has followed to the top of his profession. He demonstrated the soundness of that credo Monday night when the Dolphins raided the Refrigerator and coldcocked the Chicago Bears, 38-24.

To knock the Bears from the unbeaten ranks, preserve the 1972 Dolphins' perfect record and move the 1985 Dolphins into a tie atop the AFC East, Shula adeptly analyzed what appeared to many as a no-win situation. No win? Shula coached the 1972 team, remember?

Few NFL coaches know their personnel better than Shula, and none get more out of what they have. He was loaded for Bear. ''I knew,'' Shula said, ''we had the equipment to beat them.''

He knew few teams had been able to run against the Scare Bears' top- ranked run defense. Chicago employed the innovative 4-6 defense, which had been designed to collapse the front of the pocket and prevent the quarterback from stepping up to throw.

Adjustment: Have Dan Marino roll out, floating in the safety of a movable pocket. The tactic not only would surprise the Bears -- Marino is no Fran Tarkenton -- but would take the heat off Miami's patchwork offensive line.

Result: Playing like the 1984 NFL MVP, Marino consistently thwarted the Bears' rush. He rolled out five times and found the open receiver three times. With the Dolphins leading, 17-10, in the second quarter, he rolled right and hit Mark Duper with a 59-yard pass that set up Ron Davenport's 1-yard touchdown run.

''We needed to change up so defenses couldn't say Marino stayed in there like Dan Fouts,'' Shula said. ''It worked.'' ''We were all surprised Marino moved so effectively,'' Bears safety Dave Duerson said.

Shula knew no defenders could keep up with Duper and Mark Clayton and that the Bears would double-cover the dangerous duo. They did.

Adjustment: Have reserve wide receiver Nat Moore, 34, move to tight end, where he would be single covered by linebacker Wilber Marshall.

Result: Moore gave Miami a 7-0 lead, turning a 10-yard square-out from Marino into a dazzling 33-yard touchdown run. He read the blitz and burned the gambling Bears. Late in the second quarter, Moore left Marshall behind to catch a 6-yarder from Marino to give the Dolphins a 31-10 halftime lead. ''Marshall's a great player,'' Marino said. ''But he's going to have a tough time covering Nat.''

Shula didn't become the greatest coach in history without a measure of luck, either. Leading 31-17, the Dolphins pulled away when Marino's pass bounced off defensive lineman Dan Hampton's helmet, beyond the secondary and into the arms of Clayton. Clayton turned it into a 42-yard touchdown and a 38-17 lead. ''Okay, it was a fluke,'' Clayton said. ''But that was the only fluke of the night.''

True. What caught the Bears by surprise more than anything was the Dolphins' aggressive defense and a vocal Miami sellout crowd. The normally docile Dolphins crowd deserved a game ball, forcing Bears quarterback Steve Fuller to ask for silence a dozen times. Twice, he backed away on the goal line.

The defense registered six sacks, two interceptions and prevented Jim McMahon from rallying Chicago in the fourth quarter. The Dolphins have a reputation of being a finesse team, not a physical team like the Bears. ''We got tired of hearing about the Bears' defense,'' linebacker Hugh Green said. ''It was like they were mighty men, and we were wimps. But we showed them.''

The Bears never seemed to be able to settle into their game. It appeared Coach Mike Ditka had them running when they should have been passing and passing when they should have been running. He called an onside kick midway through the third quarter that failed.

But his most questionable tactic came near the end when he quit trying to win. Trailing 38-24 with 2:27 remaining and McMahon at the helm, Ditka called running plays to give Walter Payton the ball so he could break the record for consecutive 100-yard games. Maybe Ditka wanted to lose for psychological reasons that could help the Bears down the playoff road.

''Nobody's perfect,'' Ditka said.

Here's a quickie history lesson, Mike. As the Dolphins' coach in 1972, Don Shula was.